Last week Vancouver Sun's columnist Stephen Hume came with us to see the endangered Cameron Valley Ancient Forest (ie. "Firebreak"), a truly spectacular lowland stand of densely-packed, monumental old-growth Douglas-firs akin to a "second Cathedral Grove". This grove stands out as among the finest remaining old-growth Douglas-firs anywhere left on the planet and is of international conservation significance. You can read the resulting news article here: http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/stephen-hume-axing-old-growth-a-crime-against-nature

On our visit we also passed nearby second-growth clearcuts where one can see just how soon many of these trees are logged again. When you log an ancient forest, it doesn't come back. We also checked out a cougar den which is thought to be abandoned after Island Timberlands clearcut to within a few meters of the entranceway. And finally, we toured the world-famous Cathedral Grove as Island Timberlands has plans to log Mt Horne, the old-growth on the hillside above the park. The Ancient Forest Alliance and Port Alberni Watershed-Forest Alliance are continuing to push to save these and many other endangered areas nearby. [o] Photos by TJ Watt.